16 weeks come to an end.... next stop MB Half Marathon

I am a runner.

I'm not fast, nor am I a strong runner. I don't eat, breathe and sleep - running. I enjoy it and sort of have a love/hate relationship with it. I love it sometimes and hate it sometimes.

My background - I have been a runner for 15 yrs, yes - 15 long years. You may ask why I'm not stronger in it. Well, I've never trained for anything other than a 10K I did in 97/98. I started running out of force - the U.S. Navy made me. I hated it, but, continued after boot camp and for 4 yrs I ran on a treadmill 5 days wk/3 miles. That's it.... I also did run/swim/run's with the unit I was attached too. I didn't like that either...but did it. Fast forward to my next duty station - Dallas. I ran with a group and started enjoying it. We ran weekly and never skipped a run, no matter what the weather was like. We were quite dedicated. We did many races together and even made T-shirts representing the Navy. Silly, I know. I left there after a few years, and moved to Charleston, SC. I, then again, was attached to an EOD unit and they love to "PT". LOVE it.... so, Here I go again. I ran. ------> fast forward... got out, got married, got lazy, had a baby, got lazy... then last year I started running again.

For the last 16 wks, I've been on a Half-Marathon training program, my friend Robin (and a good/strong runner) put together. She did an excellent job with it. I have had success throughout, and with no injury. I missed 2 runs (sick), and missed 1 run 3 wks ago (burnout). Other than that, I'm happy with the training.

Today was my last run, 3 miles. I did it on my lunch hr, as I do a lot of my runs that are short. It was a good run, not because of feeling good, or no pain, or great temperature (cause it was cold), or anything other than me reflecting on my training. I had good days and bad ones. I had to deal with running long runs with no energy, walking during some runs, cold, heavy wind, rain, all 3 at once, bad drivers, large hills (hard to avoid here), shin splits, chafing, lack of motivation, and burnout. Yet, not once did I want to stop the whole plan. I've learning something about myself lately - which is I don't ALWAYS give up like I have always felt about myself. I have considered myself a procrastinator and never following-through on anything important, like finishing college, etc. But, this plan, and the training and work I put into it is coming to an end --- Saturday.

As I was coming down the hill to my house at the end of my run and ironically, listening to "Easier to run" by Linkin Park, I thought about it like some students would think of a test. Did I study hard enough, did I put enough time into studying, did I give up easier one night and say I'll have tomorrow night to catch up, will I get an A on it, OR will I get a B- like I expect, Or will I just pass it. Well, time doesn't matter for me. I want to finish it strong, without injury, feeling good and enjoying all 13.1 miles, and smiling at the end, -just like I did today at the bottom of my hill - I was done.

If I do, I'll get an A.

1 comment:

Jason The Running Man said...

GOOD LUCK! YOU'LL SMOKE IT! HAVE FUN!